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Freedom Vs. Confinement In Shakespeare's The Tempest

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Freedom V. S. Confinement People can be confined their whole life, but until they let go of their hatred, they will never be free. In the play "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare, there is a man who is under the control of his own mind. Throughout the whole play the protagonist, Prospero was trying to get revenge on his brother and the king for betraying him. He sends his servants to confuse and mess with their minds. His overall goal was to get back at them for stealing his Dukedom. At the end, Prospero realizes that it would not make him feel any better if he got revenge. Now he is free because he has no more hatred for them. In "The Tempest" Shakespeare uses characterization and setting to portray the theme of freedom vs confinement. …show more content…

People 's anger drives them to do many things, but it will never be enough until a person lets it go. For example, prosperous sends his spirits to torment Caliban by "pinching, biting" and giving him "cramps". This illustrates how a person abuses or hurts someone else because of their anger or hatred. In the everyday world, people do things through, anger that they wish they would not have. In addition to the abuse of prisoners, people give unusual punishments. A person uses their power to confine their prisoners through a change of mine in punishments. For example, Prospero says " they 're spirits that I 've called to perform my whims." This gives the idea of how people make a person do things that are unusual and unneeded. Everyday people give a lower person punishments, that are cruel and not needed because they have the power to do so. Lastly, people let their emotions dictate how they act. When a person gets tired of being confined they do things that are irrational. For example, Caliban says" No more dams I 'll make, nor fetch wood for firing." This shows how Caliban acts out because of his emotions of being confined. The character and the setting are elements that develop how people are confined through anger and

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Most of the time, when a person thinks they can control another person, they are mistaken. A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare is a play that demonstrates the subject of control. Several Characters in the play attempts to make another person do what they want. An example in the story is when a woman named Helena is tries to force a man named Demetrius to love her by chasing him in the woods trying to persuade him. At the end, Shakespeare makes the case that it is not possible to control another person’s actions, because the results are unwanted and tragic.

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Prospero constantly claims that Caliban is incapable of doing anything right and is only capable of committing malicious acts. In the text, Shakespeare states, “Which any print of goodness wilt not take, being capable of all ill.” This statement further emphasizes Prospero’s revulsion towards Caliban. They have both endured neglection and verbal abuse throughout their lifetimes, which has led them to commit wrongful acts of violence upon

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Vengeance vs. Virtue The play The Tempest, by Shakespeare, explores the values of vengeance and forgiveness through the story of Prospero. The main conflict of the story is Prospero's lack of forgiveness for his brother Antonio, who stole his throne. This causes him to seek vengeance on Antonio and all his allies. Through the events of the story, it is evident that there is more value in virtue compared to vengeance.

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The article “Tempest in the wilderness” mainly focuses on the superiority of English people over the Irish and the Indians. The English people were merciless to the Irish people. Let us take a look at those factors by one. First of all, the English thought of Irish as people who had no knowledge about god and no good behavior. They were not capable of farming.

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Prospero’s Magic, the Age of Death and the 1610 Anthropocene When Prospero -- the hero in William Shakespeare’s last play The Tempest -- buries his magical books near a cliff of an uninhabited island, he sings out the first song of the “Anthropocene” at the edge of the great globe. As the Duke of Milan, he and his daughter are exiled to the isolated island for 12 years, during which process he uses his magic to enslave the natives on the island, including “ a savage and deformed slave” -- Caliban (Shakespeare 3). One may argue that the master-slave relationship shows Shakespeare’s postcolonial reflection while others may think that this viewpoint takes too far from Shakespeare’s original intention. Steve Mentz, in his essay “Enter Anthropocene, c.1610,” interprets The Tempest through lenses of the 1610

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Revenge can be a horrible emotion; it can sometimes lead people to do horrible things. By definition, Revenge means to get retribution for a wrongdoing done to you. In my opinion, revenge is mostly caused by fear and the overwhelming feeling of payback Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and religions, and even the American culture. Though it often leads one to perform criminal acts, Howard argues that it is a necessary component in the functioning of society. He points out that revenge is a threat that acts as a disincentive to undeserved violence.

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In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, the continent of Africa struggled through imperialism and colonialism from most European Countries. Shakespeare’s last individual play titled The Tempest, can be translated into a metaphor for European colonialism on Africa during the 1800’s. In this interpretation of the play, the main character Prospero represents the European conquerors, and Caliban and Ariel represent the native African people. This suggests that Prospero controls them in cruel and unfair ways. I believe that this is translation of the play is inaccurate, because although in some sense Prospero does control Caliban and Ariel, he has a valid reason to, unlike the Europeans.

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The Tempest can be seen as a play about reconciliation, forgiveness, and mercy. However, while it is clear that the theme of forgiveness is at the heart of the drama, it is unclear to what extent mercy is given. An examination of Caliban and Ariel and their representations of Prospero’s struggle illustrates that there is little, if any, true forgiveness and reconciliation in The Tempest. Prospero’s actions from the beginning of the play seem to contradict his ultimate aim to forgive those of have wronged him. Prospero seizes the opportunity for revenge with the help of his magic and good fortune.

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Unlike Shakespeare’s other main characters, he is much more enigmatic. In they play Prospero is portrayed as the rogue who seeks revenge on his brother Antonio for his treachery. In this Shakespearean comedy it becomes clear that Prospero is the heart of power on the island. Evidently Prospero has been wronged by his brother’s usurping which he could not control and now uses his magic as a tool for controlling the events that occur on island throughout the play. The theme of power in this play is hugely significant as it clear that the violence interrogated in this play is in relation to power and the abuse of that power by the protagonist.

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As the play begins, it seems as if the massive tempest is simply a random occurrence, catching the mariners and nobility by chance. However, as the act continues, Shakespeare reveals that the tempest was actually the work of Prospero and his ghostly servant Ariel, who stirred up the seas and set fire to the masts (1.2, 193-194). This establishes Prospero as the executor of a mess of ‘coincidences’ ranging from Ferdinand stumbling upon his daughter Miranda to King Alonso and his party walking directly into the former duke’s cell. Though Prospero may have the same control over the English language as the other characters, Caliban points to his specific source of power. He says, “… for without [his books] /

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The Tempest can often be seen as a play about colonialism primarily because Prospero came to the island that belonged to Sycorax, Caliban's mother. Prospero subdued her, ruled the land and placed himself as its new ruler. He had full control over everything on the island. Caliban actually loved Prospero at first and was fine with an autonomy but not slavery as he lamented: This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, Which thou tak’st from me.

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The various ways Shakespeare dramatizes and explores power, allows us to obtain a richer impression of the theme of power in The Tempest. Government and authority both carry out important functions in the play. It is the subject of government that initiates the events in the play and it is also the foundation of the progression throughout the play. Prospero is the fundamental piece in the play concerning governance because he used to be the Duke of Milan, but loses his title to his brother Antonio when he devotes too much of his time learning magic rather than ruling his people and seeing his obligations through: “The government I cast upon my brother, [a]nd to my state grew stranger, being transported [a]nd rapt in secret studies,” (p.10). This is also the cause of Prospero and his infant

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In comparison, the inconsistency between diction depicts the power dynamics observed in the play. Shakespeare often uses Prospero’s servant, Ariel and slave, Caliban to portray the differences in the hierarchy of the play. As observed by the audience Prospero often uses threats and insults to communicate and assign task to Caliban, hence “...tonight thou shalt have cramps, side stitches that shall pen thy breath up. ”(I.ii.325-326) Prospero threatens Caliban with pain after his refusal to do work, because he feels as if the isle belongs to him due to the fact that it was inhabited by his mother first.

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